LIVE: Modi to inaugurate 'Maitri Setu' between India & Bangladesh tomorrow

Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the celebrations for India's 75 years of independence should reflect the spirit of the country's freedom movement

11:58 PM

Kolkata fire accident: CM Mamata announces Rs 10 lakh, govt job for kin of deceased

11:28 PM

Tamil Nadu factory fire accident: Death toll rises to 25

11:27 PM

Kolkata fire accident: Firefighters, cop among 7 dead

11:10 PM

Karnataka CM allows 6 months of child care leave for women govt employees

11:08 PM

Karnataka Budget: Govt allocates Rs 1500 cr for 'upliftment of minorities'

10:26 PM

Trivandrum Airport is under Centre, Amit Shah should answer on gold smuggling: Vijayan

10:23 PM

Yoth Congress passes resolution to make Rahul Gandhi party chief

Indian Youth Congress passes Resolution in its National Executive meet of national office bearers that Rahul Gandhi Should be appointed as president of Indian National Congress

10:02 PM

JEE Mains result out for February exam

9:17 PM

Kokata fire accident: No casualties or injuries reported yet

8:20 PM

Lok Sabha adjourned for day as Opposition protests over rising fuel prices

Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day as Opposition members continued their protest over rising fuel prices on Monday.

 

When the House reconvened at 7 pm after an adjournment, the Chair allowed discussion on the issue of women empowerment on the occasion of International Women's Day.

 

The discussion continued for about 20 minutes amidst continued protest by Opposition members.

 

Rama Devi of the BJP who was on the Chair appealed to the protesting members several times to let the House function so that women members can raise their issues on International Women's Day.

7:58 PM

IIM Indore placements see top salary offer of Rs 56.8 lakh

Despite an economic downturn due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the placement process of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore got completed with the highest annual package touching Rs 56.8 lakh, an official said on Monday.

 

Refusing to divulge details of the student or employer, the official said the top offer was for a position abroad, while the highest salary offered during placements for a job in the country was Rs 41.5 lakh per annum.

 

The average package offered by 210 firms that took part was Rs 23.6 lakh per annum, which was 3 per cent more than the salaries on offer last year, he added.

7:39 PM

Load shedding in Delhi lowest in last two decades, says Economic Survey

Load shedding in the national capital has dropped to 0.03 per cent of the total consumption, the lowest in the last two decades, according to the Delhi Economic Survey report.

 

The development comes even as the number of electricity consumers in the city grew by 81.74 per cent during the decade, it said.

 

The report was tabled by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Assembly on Monday.

 

Delhi, being an urban place with high load density, has seen the electricity consumption increasing from 25,668 MUs in 2010-11 to 33,082 MUs in 2019-20".

7:21 PM

India's domestic air traffic falls 37% to 7.8 million passengers in Feb: Report

India's domestic air traffic fell 37 per cent year-on-year to 78 lakh passengers in February amid travel curbs and capacity restrictions due to the pandemic, according to Icra.

 

Even the sequential growth slowed down for the second consecutive month in February with a nearly flat growth over January 2021, rating firm Icra said in a release.

 

Domestic passenger traffic in January this year was recorded at 77.34 lakh, according to DGCA data.

7:11 PM

Women still prefer cash transactions followed by AadhaarPay: Survey

A majority of women still prefer doing cash transactions followed by AadhaarPay, according to a survey.

 

The survey of more than 3,500 retail stores to understand the financial transaction behaviour of women revealed that more than 65 per cent of women still prefer dealing in cash followed by AadhaarPay, UPI QR codes and cards.

 

"While cash still remained the most preferred mode, Aadhaar Pay, UPI and Debit Cards also saw adoption among women consumers, with preferences ranging from 5-15 per cent among different age groups. Cash withdrawal, mobile recharges and bill payments were the top three services availed by women customers at retail touch points," the survey conducted by fintech services provider PayNearby said.

6:55 PM

LIVE: Biden welcomes "historic" visit by Pope Francis to Iraq

US President Biden welcomes "historic" visit by Pope Francis to Iraq, says it sent "important" message of brotherhood and peace

6:54 PM

LPG price double in 7 yrs; tax collection on petrol, diesel jumps 459%: Pradhan

Price of domestic cooking gas, LPG has doubled to Rs 819 per cylinder in the last seven years while the increase in taxes on petrol and diesel has swelled collections by over 459 per cent, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

 

In written replies to a spate of questions on rising fuel prices in the Lok Sabha, Pradhan said the retail selling price of domestic gas was Rs 410.5 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 1, 2014. This month, the same cylinder costs Rs 819.

 

Small price hikes over the past couple of years have eliminated subsidy on cooking gas as well as PDS kerosene.

 

Pradhan said the price of domestic subsidised LPG has been raised during the last few months. It cost Rs 594 per cylinder in December 2020 and now is priced at Rs 819.

6:53 PM

India-New Zealand World Test Championship final in Southampton: BCCI president

India will play their inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton's Ageas Bowl Stadium from June 18-22, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Monday.

 

Initially, the final was supposed to be held at the Lord's but Southampton, with a five-star facility inside the stadium, will make it easier for both the ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board to create a bio-bubble for the two teams.

 

"Yes, the final will be held at Ageas Bowl," Ganguly replied to a query from PTI.

 

India qualified for the marquee clash after beating England 3-1 in a just-concluded Test series.

6:36 PM

TMC fudged data on crimes against women: BJP MP

Taking potshots at Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her party's 'Bengal wants its daughter' campaign, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Monday said the ruling camp, which had been manipulating crime statistics, has "suddenly woken up to the theme of daughterhood".

 

If records were to be seen, incidents of rape, molestation and acid attack "have not declined, not even a wee bit, over the last 10 years", she told reporters here.

 

Alleging that the state government did not provide requisite data to NCRB on the crimes committed against women in the state, Chatterjee said that "this is the reason why the agency couldn't publish a comprehensive report on Bengal.

6:31 PM

Asaduddin Owaisi led-AIMIM seals alliance with TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK for TN polls

6:11 PM

Cong, DMK hold second round seat-sharing talks in Puducherry; No deal yet

The Congress and DMK on Monday held their second round of seat sharing talks for the April 6 Puducherry assembly elections and a pact is likely to be reached soon after top leadership-level parleys.

 

A day after the first round of discussions, leaders of the two parties again met at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office here.

 

Emerging from the 45-minute-long deliberations, former chief minister V Narayanasamy told reporters that the DMK delegates informed them about the number of seats the party wanted out of the 30 constituencies in the union territory.

6:09 PM

BJP not to announce CM face in Assam before polls: State chief

BJP will not announce the chief ministerial candidate before the Assam polls and a decision in this regard will be taken by its Parliamentary Board at the time of forming the next government, the saffron party state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Monday.

 

Incumbent chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and influential minister and convenor of the North East Democratic Front (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma have also said the ultimate decision on selecting a person for the chief minister chair in the new government will be that of the party's Parliamentary board.

 

This is in contrary to the position in 2016, when BJP had projected the then union minister Sarbananda Sonowal as its chief ministerial face before the elections were held.

 

"When there is no government, then the CM name is projected. When we are in government, then we do not project any name for the CM post," Dass told PTI in an interview.

6:02 PM

Govt employee sacked for filing nomination to contest polls

An assistant technical manager has been dismissed from service on the charge of filing nomination to contest the forthcoming Assembly election from Yercaud constituency on behalf of a political party.

 

Thilakavati, working in the Agriculture Technology Management Agency in Thalaivasal in Salem district on temporary basis, reportedly posted the nomination paper in the social media, official sources said on Monday.

5:49 PM

LIVE: Something fishy, says Uddhav Thackeray after NIA takes over Hiren's death case

5:47 PM

Air 'poor' in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, 'moderate' in Noida, Faridabad

The average air quality was recorded in the "poor category in Ghaziabad and Gurgaon, while it was "moderate" in Greater Noida, Noida and Faridabad, according to data issued by a government agency on Monday.

 

Pollutants PM2.5 and PM10 also remained high in the air of the five immediate neighbours of Delhi, according to the air quality index (AQI) maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

 

According to the index, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

5:47 PM

Five domestic airlines to resume operations from Mumbai airport T1 on Wednesday

The city airport has said five domestic airlines will be operating 102 flights to 27 destinations on day one of the resumption of flight operations from Terminal-1 on Wednesday.

 

The operations from T1, which serves domestic passengers, remained suspended even after a restart of domestic air services in the country on May 25 last year following a two-month suspension of air services in late March to contain the pandemic.

 

As of now, all operations -- domestic and international (under various special initiatives) -- at Mumbai airport is being carried out from Terminal 2 (T-2).

5:34 PM

People of Assam eager to bring back BJP govt : Sonowal

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday claimed that the people of the state are "eagerly waiting" to bring back the BJP-led government to power with over 100 seats in the 126-member Assembly.

 

He said party is heavily banking upon the developmental work done by the NDA government and sought another term to make Assam one of the best states in India.

 

"People of Assam have found a suitable performing government ... They are very happy with the developmental work of our government ... They are convinced that only BJP-led NDA government can provide security, peace and development.

5:33 PM

RS members demand women reservation in Parliament, state assemblies

Several Rajya Sabha members on International Women's Day on Tuesday pushed for at least one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, saying this will ensure they get adequate representation.

 

The demand comes in the backdrop of a bill which sought to give 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies lapsing a few years ago.

 

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on the occasion appreciated the services rendered by women members of the House for the country's development and prosperity.

 

"We need to ensure an environment that allows women to express themselves to their full potential in the form of both words and deeds," he said and wished them more strength and power.

5:30 PM

Army exam paper leak: Major sent to police custody till Mar 15

A 47-year-old Army officer arrested in connection with a recruitment exam paper leak in Pune was on Monday remanded in police custody till March 15.

 

The Pune police told the court of Additional Sessions Judge SR Navandar that Major T Murugan, who was arrested from Taml Nadu, had forwarded the question paper to other accused.

 

Public Prosecutor Premkumar Agrawal told court that Murugan had forwarded the leaked question paper to other accused through Whatsapp, and the police needed to know from where he got this exam paper.

5:21 PM

LIVE: Lok Sabha adjourned till 7 pm today amid uproar by the Opposition over rise in fuel prices

5:13 PM

LIVE: A total of five TMC MLAs, including Sital Kumar Sardar, joined BJP today

LIVE: A total of five TMC MLAs, including Sital Kumar Sardar, joined BJP today